Thriving Communities Fund (Social Prescribing)

We know from evidence that COVID-19 is not affecting us all in the same way, across multiple studies, younger adults, people of female gender and people from BAME groups, those with financial problems and being a working parent have been experiencing worse psychological responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK COVID Social Study reported that levels of depression and anxiety are highest in young adults, people living alone, people living with children, those with a lower household income, people from BAME groups, and people living in urban areas.

A radical shift is needed to put communities at the heart of public health shifting to a more person and community-centred approaches to health and wellbeing. We will achieve this through:

• using non-clinical methods
• using participatory approaches, such as community members actively involved in design, delivery and evaluation through co-creation
• reducing barriers to engagement through “Access Funds”
• utilising and building on the community asset of Delapre Abbey and Park
• collaborating with those most at risk of poor health, identified above.
• changing the conditions that drive poor health through partners
• addressing community-level factors such as social networks, social capital, and empowerment
• increasing people’s control over their health

We will ensure effective participation in which individuals and communities define the problems and develop the community solutions through a co-creation model. Warts and All Theatre will devise a co-creation strategy in collaboration with the sector partners. Their experience will ensure individuals and communities are effectively engaged to develop community solutions, that achieve the desired health and social outcomes.

This programme will focus on:

• Unexpected Arts - Embedding arts/culture experiences across a number of the activities, programmed through community consultation, delivered by professional artists and in partnership with the health and wellbeing specialists.
• Community decision making - a steering group of service users will be created to help steer and shape the activities inline with the projects themes outlined below and overall aims and objectives of the project
• Giving: increasing volunteering and supporting those recently unemployed or lonely, supported by close links with our voluntary sector partners.
• Relating: promotion of various social groups, or courses, to enable nonthreatening contact and enable people to feel more comfortable out of their homes.
• Exercise: a variety of offers from simple signposting walks, jogging, cycling to promotion of exercise classes and links with the local kayaking and canoeing centre and potential new Delapre Bike Park.
• Awareness: opportunities for promotion of mindfulness in variety of ways including “Awe Walks”, increasing peoples contact with nature and wildlife in partnership with the Wildlife Trust.
• Try something new: in partnership with the local Recovery colleges and education resources the opportunity to provide groups to support people to return to work or new meaningful activity recognising increasing number of people who are likely to become unemployed or especially younger people access job market.
• Resilience: in partnership with talking therapies services for both youth and adults promote ways people can access therapy and find ways of developing resilience. In addition working with partners to equip individuals and communities with the skills and confidence to re-enter employment, and achieve a greater understanding of financial management.
• Training: DAPT has over 125 active volunteers, this programme will support training of volunteers to deliver some of the wellbeing activities listed above. In addition, the programme would deliver champions training to provide A specific Action for Happiness Champions course that will be rolled out to front line health staff as well as volunteers.

The University of Northampton were funded to conduct a process evaluation of the new social prescribing programme at Delapre Abbey, Northampton.